Hallyu Go Global, G-Dragon and Rap Monster's Khip-hop

The growing popularity of Korean Wave, which had initially started in Asian countries, has been now spreading to other regions of the world in recent years.
 According to global hallyu report 2015 published by the Korea Foundation (KF) on 26th,  the number of enthusiastic fans for Korean culture and food last year increased 63 percent to be 35.59 million over the previous year's number of 21.82 million.
Also, the number of hallyu fan clubs rose to 1,493 last year in 86 countries, a 21 percent up from the previous year's 1,229.

Among idol singers, especially 'Big Bang' including the G-Dragon, enjoyed massive international popularity in 2015.
BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys emerged as the hottest new K-pop group last year as well.
In particular, G-Dragon and BTS's Kim Nam-joon, better known as Rap Monster has led the spread of Korean style of hiphop, called "K-hiphop last year.


Big Bang has received wide attention in the United States, Japan and Europe.
G-Dragon sets another record and became the first Korean solo singer to hold concerts at four of Japan’s Domes for three consecutive years attracting over one million Japanese fans.
KF report also stated that Dr. Ute Fendler of University of Bayreuth evaluated "G-Dragon doesn't make his video just to look cool. You also need to look at his creativity, or the depth of his understanding in humanities. European music videos cannot compete with his," at the Third World conference for Hallyu in Dubai last November.


Bangtan Boys (BTS) has broken into Billboard's Top 20 Best K-pop Songs and the 10 Best K-pop Albums of 2015 and they have topped Japan’s Oricon Single chart for the first time since debut with their fourth single, “For You,” as well.

As the K-hiphop was so popular recently, tickets for Korean rappers such as G-Dragon, Rap Monster and Block B's Zico were even sold out in many performances in Europe, the report said.

Among the girl groups, 2NE1 gathered the most attention last year.
US Fuse TV has included 2NE1 and BIGBANG on a list titled, ‘AMAZING PERFORMANCES OF 2015’
Among the artists recognized on the list are Katy Perry, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Rihanna and so on.

"Running Man" star Lee Kwang Soo tops the list of new millionaire stars

On January 25th, tvN show "List of Names 2016" published list of this year’s rising “millionaire” stars.
"Running Man" star Lee Kwang Soo has overtaken actor Kim Soo Hyun as the Korea’s new richest star on the list.

According to the list, Lee Kwang Soo kickstarted his career after becoming a regular on hit entertainment program, Running Man, earning great popularity in China.
Lee is loved throughout Asia, including China, Hong Kong and has made on the list of china's top ten most beloved stars as well.
Lee is earning millions of dollars from his varity programs and CF in China.

Meanwhile, following Lee Kwang Soo on the list is actor Kim Soo Hyun on second and Girls’ Day’s Hyeri in third place.

List of millionaire star - 2016 (TvN)

1. Lee Kwang soo

2. Kim Soo Hyun

3. Girls Day Hyeri

4. JYJ Junsu

5. Jessica

6. Rapper Toki

7.SISTAR Soyou

8. SNSD Taeyeon

The 10 Best Rest Stops food in Korea

On Jan. 13th, Korea Expressway Corp. has selected Top 10 best representing foods of highway rest areas, reflecting the opinions of cutomers and food experts.

Dolsot Bibimbap at Geoncheon rest stop in Gyeongju City was overall winner in this award.

Pork Kimchi Stew (hwanggan rest stop, Seoul) was the best rest stop dish chosen by rest stop users and beef soup (mannam rest stop, Seoul)was picked as most delicious rest stop dish by food experts.

A peek at unique fashion styles of models-turned-actors and actresses 2016, Korea

There has been an increasing number of model-turned-actors and actress getting populatity recently, making their names with starring roles and decent acting.

These model-turned actors have the looks, height and extraordinary body proportion to pull off costumes including casual wear flawlessly.

One of the most acclaimed actors of his age group, Kang Dong Won is also known to be interested in fashion.
He prefers to dress funky style wearing skinny look that can boast his slim body.
His most recent public forays to promote the K-movie A Violent Prosecutor with Hwang Jung Min have been quite a sight to behold. He’s donned high heeled boots, zippered leather skinny pants, a cape coat with what looks like a pearl necklace, and even an Indian pattern fringe jacket.

Stephanie Lee first debuted as a model in the United States.
She also started her acting career in JTBC drama " Detectives of Seonam Girls'High School" and has garnered attention as Shin Sa A, the VIP client manager in "Yong Pal." last year.

Stephanie boasted elegant charm wearing a dress in the public appearance, while presented cheerful casual styling in casual wear.
She likes to wear long coat and that matches her tall height and when she wear jean she usually match up with roll-up style and sneakers that takes advantage of her long legs.

Lee Jong suk is also one of leading fashion model-turned-actors.
Lee Jong Suk prefers classical monotone look. He dress mainly in trendy black slacks to match even casual trendy styling.
He also, use jacket and coat many times to showcase a classic look.

Recently, Lee Jong Suk attended as representative of Korea in the fashion brand Burberry 2016 A/W menswear collection show held at Kensington Gardens London, England. On that day, he matched an indigo suit, black slacks topped with a gray long coat on shoulder giving a tasteful look of a trendy chic.

Top model Lee Sung Kyung made her debut as an actress in SBS drama “It’s OK, It’s love” in 2104.

Lee prefers the styling which is gorgeous but not exceeding.
Her styling is mainly utilized by one-piece dress.
Especially last year, she aappeared on the red carpet at the Seoul Drama Awards 2015 wearing a rather unique dress that is creating a lot of buzz on the internet.
She went for a nude look by wearing a see-through top, revealing her strapless bra underneath.

Lee has remarkable styling that accentuated 'simplicity'.
She selects a bland print line when wearing colorful dresses and select black color to go with size-friendly dresses
She also select shoes which goes well with her dresses to demonstrate a superior fashion sense.

Korean Celebrities With Chic Short Haircuts 2016

For girls, short hair is definitely not the easiest style to pull off, and it definitely looks better on some than others.
Here are the latest short hairstyles and color trends worn by Korean female celebrities who look good in short hair.

Girl's Day's Hyeri cut her hair into a short bob for her role in the tvN drama 'Reply 1988'.
Hyeri's retro short bob style may seem out of style for some but it suits her round, small cat-like face with large eyes and make her more lovely.


Irene's two-tone hair colors in a variety of colors such as pink and purple, blue and green for her short hair became her trademark.
Hair coloring ideas blending two colors can bring a look of rich drama and play to your hair.


Hwang Jung Eum takes on a curly, unkempt bob for her portrayal of publishing intern Kim Hye Jin in drama "She Was Pretty."
Her short hair style in drama is called 'volume magic C-curl perm', C-curl at the ends, Volume Magic Rebonding in the mid body to create a soft look with natural waves. This hair is perfect for every occasion and is easy to do as well as maintaining.
This C-curl hairstyle is also effective for contouring jawline to make it look slim and sharp.

If you wannna try to do something unique and different with your short hair style,  you might want to take notice of recent Korean celebrities's various short hair styles like After School's Lizzy, actress Kim Hyun Joo, Kang Seong Yeon, Kim Sung Ryung and Lee Da Hee as well.